Post by: acnewman55 on July 08, 2013, 12:49:39 AM
i'm gonna try to hunt me up some black bear in the east-cascades his year. i will be shooting my .308
i'm wondering, in non-super-technical terms (i'm an ammo buyer, not reloader) what would be your brand/bullet weight of choice for black bear, keeping in mind that i will only be taking broadside shots under 100 yards.
thanks much.
Post by: ASHQUACK on July 08, 2013, 12:52:37 AM
I prefer the Sierra Grand Slam in the 175 grn bullet.
Post by: RadSav on July 08, 2013, 03:45:54 AM
Plus, all my .308's have loved the cheap stuff :chuckle:
Post by: huntingfool7 on July 08, 2013, 05:45:05 AM
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on July 08, 2013, 06:40:00 AM
Post by: huntnnw on July 08, 2013, 06:47:08 AM
Post by: RadSav on July 08, 2013, 06:59:03 AM
I hope changes were made to them from the late 80's and early 90's..Those bullets were horrendous..I saw many of those bullets EXPLODE on bone! to where u couldnt find a piece bigger than end of a ball point pen.
Guided through much of the 80's using the .308 as the guide loaner gun. Took dozens of bear personally with the .308 through the 90's as well. Now the Core-Lokt might not be my first choice if using the fast 284 or 300 magnums, but I've never seen anything but perfection from them out of the 308Win velocity. Literally hundreds of 308 Win kills in that time frame.
Post by: blacktailcody on July 08, 2013, 08:56:39 AM
Post by: h20hunter on July 08, 2013, 08:58:59 AM
Post by: jpharcher on July 08, 2013, 09:11:00 AM
Mr Bear only went 30 yards before going down.
I think a well placed shot from any legal hunting caliber rifle 270 and up or a well placed arrow makes short work of them.
Post by: WSU on July 08, 2013, 10:17:59 AM
sorry if this seems like a repeated post, but i spent about two hours reading through previous posts on the subject and didn't find what i was looking for. :sry:
i'm gonna try to hunt me up some black bear in the east-cascades his year. i will be shooting my .308
i'm wondering, in non-super-technical terms (i'm an ammo buyer, not reloader) what would be your brand/bullet weight of choice for black bear, keeping in mind that i will only be taking broadside shots under 100 yards.
thanks much.
What do you currently shoot? It will probably work just fine.
Post by: Ripper on July 08, 2013, 11:08:42 AM
Post by: blacktailcody on July 08, 2013, 11:17:11 AM
Post by: Killmore on July 08, 2013, 12:06:16 PM
Post by: h20hunter on July 08, 2013, 12:08:41 PM
What are you shooting now?
Post by: blacktailcody on July 08, 2013, 12:11:25 PM
I want to get a round i can shoot a little further with though.
Post by: h20hunter on July 08, 2013, 12:12:47 PM
Post by: blacktailcody on July 08, 2013, 12:13:34 PM
Post by: Curly on July 08, 2013, 12:13:51 PM
I hope changes were made to them from the late 80's and early 90's..Those bullets were horrendous..I saw many of those bullets EXPLODE on bone! to where u couldnt find a piece bigger than end of a ball point pen.
:yeah:
I can't say what CoreLokt does at .308 velocity, but at 30-06 velocity I can attest to them blowing up. I shot a buck in the early 90's with a 150 gr corelokt out of a 30-06 at about 150 yards. It was a running shot, quartering away and the bullet exploded when hitting a rib on the way in. It made jello out of the lungs and heart, so it was a quick kill, but there was lead fragments all over the chest cavity. I haven't used them since. :twocents:
Post by: BOWHUNTER45 on July 08, 2013, 12:16:42 PM
Yeah they do in a .270 too ...130 corelokt sinks in a .270 ! But the heavier cal. seem to be fine ..I hope changes were made to them from the late 80's and early 90's..Those bullets were horrendous..I saw many of those bullets EXPLODE on bone! to where u couldnt find a piece bigger than end of a ball point pen.
:yeah:
I can't say what CoreLokt does at .308 velocity, but at 30-06 velocity I can attest to them blowing up. I shot a buck in the early 90's with a 150 gr corelokt out of a 30-06 at about 150 yards. It was a running shot, quartering away and the bullet exploded when hitting a rib on the way in. It made jello out of the lungs and heart, so it was a quick kill, but there was lead fragments all over the chest cavity. I haven't used them since. :twocents:
Post by: Fishaholic on July 08, 2013, 12:18:51 PM
Post by: Curly on July 08, 2013, 12:26:30 PM
Granted you don't really need either of those for killing black bears, but they should work well...........plus I looked at Midway and Midsouth and both have very few choices in stock. :o
Post by: acnewman55 on July 08, 2013, 12:36:51 PM
sorry if this seems like a repeated post, but i spent about two hours reading through previous posts on the subject and didn't find what i was looking for. :sry:
i'm gonna try to hunt me up some black bear in the east-cascades his year. i will be shooting my .308
i'm wondering, in non-super-technical terms (i'm an ammo buyer, not reloader) what would be your brand/bullet weight of choice for black bear, keeping in mind that i will only be taking broadside shots under 100 yards.
thanks much.
What do you currently shoot? It will probably work just fine.
Well right now I'm having plenty of trouble finding any .308 at all, but I am sitting on 40 rounds of Federal Premium Fusion 180 grains that I reckon will do the trick. Just haven't shot them yet to see what my groups are like. I've been shooting some ther federal 180 grans and groups are great so I assume the Fusions will shoot similar but at slightly higher velocity.
From reviews I've read, the Fusion will knock down a bear easily enough. Especially at 180 grains - since I'm not planning on taking shots longer than 150 yards I'll probably stick with the 180s.
Post by: WSU on July 08, 2013, 12:40:39 PM
Post by: h20hunter on July 08, 2013, 12:42:32 PM
Post by: fastdam on July 08, 2013, 12:57:11 PM
Post by: RadSav on July 08, 2013, 05:37:14 PM
Well right now I'm having plenty of trouble finding any .308 at all, but I am sitting on 40 rounds of Federal Premium Fusion 180 grains that I reckon will do the trick. Just haven't shot them yet to see what my groups are like. I've been shooting some ther federal 180 grans and groups are great so I assume the Fusions will shoot similar but at slightly higher velocity.
From reviews I've read, the Fusion will knock down a bear easily enough. Especially at 180 grains - since I'm not planning on taking shots longer than 150 yards I'll probably stick with the 180s.
I've got a few used 150 Fusions sitting on my desk. For a bonded bullet out of the 308 velocities they look pretty impressive. And the accuracy out of a 22" barrel was equally impressive.
I hear ya about finding 308 ammo. Last trip to Canada taking the 308 I couldn't find any ammo and wanted more than two clips for the trip. All I could find was Hornady SST which my gun doesn't particularly like. Bought five boxes anyway just to have some.
Post by: carpsniperg2 on July 08, 2013, 05:54:16 PM
Post by: duckmen1 on July 08, 2013, 10:38:51 PM
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on July 08, 2013, 11:05:35 PM
-Steve
Post by: X-Force on July 08, 2013, 11:56:20 PM
Pretty much any solid bullet will work for you. Stay away from bullets like the sst and btips they expand way to much to quick for bigger game like bears. I would look at the accubonds or etips. I have killed bears with both and they have not let me down.
I have used SST and bst on all my bears and haven't had an issue 30- 110 yards. They do expand fast but proper shot placement is everything IMO.
Personally I would like to shoot an inter bond or accubond but no one makes those for a 280... I need to start reloading.
Post by: huntingfool7 on July 09, 2013, 06:20:18 AM
Factory ammo for bear? Remington CoreLokt or Bronze Tip 180gn.Have you had good results with Bronze Tips? We've used CoreLokt for years on everything from coyote to elk in traditional calibers (i.e. 30-06, 270) and never had a bad result. My buddy used Bronze Tips (150's?) on an elk several years ago and most of the rounds didn't get through the shoulder muscle/bone. I think there were 4 shots total on a very close range bull.
-Steve
My understanding of Bronze Tips is they are a hollow point with a wedge in the nose meant for longer distance shooting.
Post by: BULLBLASTER on July 09, 2013, 12:55:21 PM
Post by: JackOfAllTrades on July 09, 2013, 01:13:04 PM
Factory ammo for bear? Remington CoreLokt or Bronze Tip 180gn.Have you had good results with Bronze Tips? We've used CoreLokt for years on everything from coyote to elk in traditional calibers (i.e. 30-06, 270) and never had a bad result. My buddy used Bronze Tips (150's?) on an elk several years ago and most of the rounds didn't get through the shoulder muscle/bone. I think there were 4 shots total on a very close range bull.
-Steve
My understanding of Bronze Tips is they are a hollow point with a wedge in the nose meant for longer distance shooting.
Well, my old '06 loves Rem Bronze tips. The most accurate factory loaded bullet I've run through the old girl. I actually haven't taken game with the Bronze as they are hard to find. I've kilt enough with CoreLokt though. No, the Bronze isn't a bone mashing bullet but a quality heart/lung shot should be perfect for that design. I wouldn't hesitate to use them on bear though.
(https://hunting-washington.com/smf/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.remington.com%2F%7E%2Fmedia%2FImages%2FAmmunition%2FCenterfire%2FBronze%2520Point%2520Box.ashx&hash=980b6cddf4f11182937295ba774de7ffebde34bb)Overview:Introduced by Remington® over 80 years ago, these were the first bullets to utilize a tipped design. Today Bronze Point still delivers exceptional long-range performance on medium-sized game. Sleek profile generates flat trajectory. On impact, the bronze tip is driven backward to create rapid, but controlled expansion.
Post by: carpsniperg2 on July 09, 2013, 02:40:53 PM
Pretty much any solid bullet will work for you. Stay away from bullets like the sst and btips they expand way to much to quick for bigger game like bears. I would look at the accubonds or etips. I have killed bears with both and they have not let me down.
I have used SST and bst on all my bears and haven't had an issue 30- 110 yards. They do expand fast but proper shot placement is everything IMO.
Personally I would like to shoot an inter bond or accubond but no one makes those for a 280... I need to start reloading.
I just don't like if I catch a shoulder with a btip or sst the chances of getting the penetration that I need goes way down over say the accubond. Hunt with what ever works for you but if shopping for a bear bullet, a better penetrating bullet would win in my mind over a explosive bullet like the btip or sst.
Post by: xXLojackXx on July 18, 2013, 02:44:42 PM
This fall I'm taking my .243 with 115gr Dtac bullets. No problem punching through a shoulder and destroying lungs/heart/arteries.